While we were in Athens and had a free day until we boarded the sailboat, we decided to take an excursion up into the mountains outside of Athens to a ruins called Delphi. We had a limo take us ; it was a beautiful 3 hour drive through the mountains. Here we have arrived and the driver is giving us tips as to what to expect.As you can see from this overall map it’s quite a large complex. All very interesting and amazing to see! On the left of this map is the entrance and the museum and on the right up the mountain is the extensive ruins as they would have looked back then.It was amazing to me that a lot of these ruins are still intact after thousands of years!
Morgan and Clayton managed to find friends along the way!Some beautiful and interesting flowers and plants growing here as well.
Rock of the Sibyl, now covered almost completely by lush vines!
This is a replica of the Serpent Column. Notice in the background is the base to the original. It was moved from this Temple of Apollo to the Hippodrome in Constantinople, Istanbul, Turkey.
We were amazed at how they could cut such perfect shapes int stone so many thousands of years ago!
And of course what ruins would be complete without an amphitheater!
They had, like most of these ancient ruins, evidence of an elaborate aqueduct system for managing water!
Much of the intricate telework of this building was miraculously still in good condition.
Quite the view from on top of this area!
On our way back down to the entrance and the museum we encountered a few local residents!
The museum held some of the more delicate and interesting relics; kept indoors to preserve them better.
This display showed what was left of this statue, with the drawing behind it to give you a feel of how it looked. Very interesting exhibit!
Some of the artifacts were more “interesting” than others!
Our first stop on our Greece adventure was Athens for 3 days while we waited to get on the sailboat. Jan found this awesome VRBO in Athens on top of the hill with views galore!Interesting artwork!
Beautiful sunsets from up there!
We did a little exploring and walking around downtown Athens.If you look close you can see the Acropolis on top of the rocks behind these buildings. We were amazed at how close they built stuff near the Acropolis!
Mopeds and motorcycles are a very popular mode of transportation there!
A very popular brand of coffee there!An open air market.
the acropolis
While in Athens of course we had to go see the Acropolis!The fact that much of the fine details are still intact after this many centuries is amazing! The Acropolis was built between 460 and 430 BC!The view of Athens from the Acropolis.
This was an Amphitheater next to the Acropolis. Again, astonishing how well preserved it is considering how many millions of visitors have been here!A group shot in front of the Acropolis. Hard to get without any other people in the picture! Note the crane in  the background; they are continually working on restoring and/or maintaining the structures here to preserve them.
I saw this in the marble we were walking on. It appears be a hole ground into the marble; maybe grinding grains or corn?
See the whiter marble? That’s some very meticulous restoration; replacing the missing pieces exactly as they were!
This looks safe!
Workers are constantly cleaning the Amphitheater seats.
Another shot of one of the many cranes in use here.Workers measuring one of the thousands of loose pieces; maybe to figure out where it goes?
This was before the peak season for visitors but there must have been a few thousand visitors while we were there! A little too many for our tastes!
Amazing how these plants can grow so well in the cracks between stones!Another example of how well some of the fine details have endured!The marble all these millions of visitors have been walking on is worn very smooth and shiny; really treacherous when it rains I would imagine!Another amazing view of the city from the Acropolis!
Not all the visitors were mesmerized by the history and amazing structures!
During our short stay in Amarillo we stayed at this nice park. Very clean, well kept and lots of room between sites!Their tribute to Cadillac Ranch I guess! I would have included a picture of the real Cadillac ranch but there were people swarming all around it and it is now completely covered in spray painted graffiti, such a shame!While there we also added Oklahoma to our map; only 16 states left!There were 8 Grand Design rigs during our stay; we were well represented!
The view from our rear window, another two Solitudes!The whole purpose for the visit was to spend time with Bryces sister, Holland!
We did a day trip with Holland to the Palo Duro Canyon Texas State Park. These Longhorn Steers were penned at the entrance to the park. They really weren’t interested in us, more into their dinner!
The canyon; not as impressive as others we’ve seen but still beautiful! Kind of like a small Grand Canyon.
While staying in Tulsa we did a little sightseeing. We visited the Phillips Petroleum Company Museum in Tulsa, what a fascinating place!This truck was produced by the Tulsa Automobile Company, a 1918 Tulsa Four Runabout, specially built for the oilfields; I never knew the company even existed!
Notice the custom racks in the bed for drill bits.Some displays brought back memories of my youth; I guess this means I’m kind of OLD!
Some beautiful and interesting artwork and old photos as well.This huge vault contained the thousands of Phillips Petroleum patents!One of their patented products was Marlex Plastic, which was most famously used for production of the Hula Hoop!They even had a Hula Hoop there you could “take for a spin”! We didn’t try it!Here are some of their many products over the years.
Here’s a photo of one of their service stations. I remember when they really were service stations; they pumped your gas, check your oil and battery and washed your windows!Some of their early delivery vehicles used in their business.
Frank Phillips was very particular when it came to the company image!This is one of their service stations that is on display at the Woolaroc Museum and Wildlife Preserve.
They had a replica of the living quarters for the oilfield workers; pretty sparse!
woolaroc museum and wildlife preserve
Here’s a couple of Longhorn steers having a little sparring match.And Ostriches!Zebras!?! In Oklahoma?A couple of Water Buffalo cooling off!They even have a small herd of Bison too.In front of the museum are several interesting bronze sculptures.An indian speer fishing.
The front entrance to the museum had these beautiful mosaic tile pictures.
In the main entrance lobby is a grand statue of “Uncle Frank” as he was called by all who knew him. Frank Phillips, founder of the Phillips Petroleum Company and also a great humanitarian to all.Frank Phillips had a great love and respect for the Native Americans, so there is quite a lot of memorabilia, artwork and photos of them in his extensive collection here.
We particularly liked this painting, it looks almost 3D in person!
There were also many beautiful birds and animals to admire.
This was one HUGE snake!There were some displays of how it was in the old west of the time, including this beautiful saddle.There many different variations of spurs too!
A caricature of Uncle Frank; he wasn’t afraid of being poked fun at! He loved the Old West!
Here’s a painting from a photo of Uncle Frank attending the 1930 Cow Thieves and Outlaw Reunion, holding the Chief’s grandson!
A re-creation of Frank’s office.There is also a very extensive collection of various firearms, quite impressive!
There is als
And of course, vehicles and an airplane!
Beautiful chair, but it doesn’t look too comfy!
Frank and his wife’s living quarters of the day.
On our way out of the parking lot at Woolaroc we noticed these whimsical bird houses lining the back of the lot!
tulsa botanical gardens
The Tulsa Botanical Gardens had some spectacular flowers; we were amazed!
We’ve seen these before, but these were huge! about the size of a dinner plate!
